Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will also be present at the function.

The state government has also requested Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to be present at the function that will be held near Salt Lake Stadium, the place slated to be the terminal station in the east.

Originally, the project was to cost Rs 4,676 crore but as the state government recommended the extension of the project from Howrah station to Howrah Maidan, an additional sum of Rs 198 crore will have to be spent.

On Tuesday, Bhattacharjee wrote to Mukherjee requesting him to convene a meeting of empowered committee of Union ministers to clear the extension plan, which was given a go-ahead on Monday a committee headed by Union Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar.

While 25 per cent of the total cost of the project will be borne by the state government, the rest 75 per cent will be provided as loan by the Japan Bank for International Co-operation.

The East-West metro will cover a distance of 14.67 km and the extension will cover a distance of another 900 metres.

From Salt Lake stadium, where the first terminal station will be set up, the route will run through eastern and central Kolkata and from there it will cross Hooghly underneath.